


The Stresses of the Day

by miera



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Episode Related, F/M, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-06
Updated: 2011-04-06
Packaged: 2017-10-17 16:04:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/178551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miera/pseuds/miera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Spoilers for "The Game." Elizabeth is frustrated and Ronon makes a peculiar offer</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Stresses of the Day

Usually Elizabeth came out to the balcony to relax, but today, she was walking back and forth and just fidgeting uncontrollably. Her office wasn't an optimal pacing environment. At least out here it took several steps for her to reach one end of the balcony before she had to turn around.

It was bad enough that John and Rodney had gotten this whole mess started. At least they hadn't known from the beginning that they were mucking around with real people.

Major Lorne and Radek, though, had no excuses. She couldn't begin to say how disappointed she was in them both right now.

She wished Carson was available. He, no doubt, would have been in complete agreement with her about the terrible dangers of playing God with other people's lives.

She pivoted on one heel and found herself face to face with Ronon. She hadn't heard him come outside. She made her hands unclench and tried to relax. After all, unlike half the other men in Atlantis, he hadn't done anything to piss her off. Not this week, anyway. "Ronon. Did you need something?"

He shrugged and leaned against the balcony. "Sheppard and McKay are still talking with their people."

She narrowed her eyes. "Talking or arguing?"

He grinned and she sighed. "I can't believe the two of them sometimes," she muttered. It wasn't really appropriate for her to say such things in front of a member of their team, but then again, it wasn't like she wasn't broadcasting her feelings quite loudly right now. "They should know better than to try and tell other people how to live their lives."

Ronon quirked an eyebrow. "Well, you do."

She whirled around, furious. "What?"

He folded his arms, still looking at her blandly. "You tell people what to do all the time."

For a second she couldn't even speak, she was so angry. "That's... it's completely different! There has to be an ordered system here or the city wouldn't function. But I'm not requiring them to structure their lives, their belief systems, based around what I say," she snapped, her hands curling into fists again. "I'd be perfectly happy to never hold another person's life in my hands again. I don't want that kind of responsibility. And-" her voice dropped from near-shouting and she fixed Ronon with a hostile stare. "I have never, ever taken anyone's ability to make their own choices away."

He looked back at her, his expression serious. "No, you haven't." She nodded, huffing out a breath. "If you did, I wouldn't have stayed."

That touched her, more than she wanted to admit. Ronon wasn't in Atlantis because of her. He'd stayed because of John, Teyla and even Carson, but it was nice to know he understood that much about her.

She rubbed her hands over her face. She needed to get back inside and get back to work.

"You can hit me, if you want."

She gaped. "I- I beg your pardon?"

Ronon put his arms on the railing behind him. He looked positively mischievous. "You look like you really want to hit something." She couldn't help it, she started to laugh. It was rare but this was one of those times where choking the life out of something sounded appealing to her.

She saw his lips draw into a grin underneath his beard in response. "It's not like you can hurt me anyway."

His smugness pricked her pride. Super warrior or not, Ronon was just as vulnerable to a strategically placed knee as any other man. The desire to wipe the smirk off his face made her act before she could think.

She let her shoulders slide down and began walking towards him, adding a little extra sashay to her hips as she approached. She drew in a breath, aware that her posture was pushing her breasts forward farther than normal, and she concentrated on looking directly into his eyes.

In her peripheral vision, she saw him swallow. She watched the smirk slip off his face and when she was almost touching him, she shivered when a flash of vulnerability - of pure, hot hunger - went across his features. It made her heart race and her own blood warm, but she was damned if she was going to back down now.

Ronon's eyes flickered to her lips when she stopped. One more centimeter and their bodies would be flush against each other. She reached out and rested her hands on his shoulders, drawing in a deep breath.

She jerked her knee up as fast as she could, stopping it just in time to avoid slamming his privates up into his throat.

Ronon grabbed her in shock, one big hand automatically seizing her knee to protect himself while the other grasped her hip. The stunned surprise on his face made her want to punch the air exultantly and gloat. It was rare that anyone got a jump on Ronon, especially her. She settled for smiling at him sweetly. "You shouldn't let your guard down so easily," she practically purred.

His eyes went wide, and then he looked over her speculatively. His fingers tightened on her waist and for a split second Elizabeth almost gave in. She wanted to. She wanted to throw herself against his big, strong body and just kiss him senseless, let all her pent up frustration and fury out somehow. He was right about that. She could let herself go with him and he would be able to take it.

But then, as she'd just proved, there were any number of other ways she could hurt him.

Instead she slipped out of his grasp and headed back inside. She couldn't resist glancing back and she saw a rueful, possibly wistful smile on his face as he watched her go.

If she let her hips sway a little more than usual as she left, well, she'd just write that off to the stresses of the day.


End file.
